Tufted Vetch Seeds (Vicia cracca)

Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) is a scrambling native perennial of the pea family that climbs 60 to 120cm through surrounding vegetation using branched tendrils at the tips of its feathery leaves. From June to August it carries dense, one-sided spikes of small tubular flowers in violet and deep blue, followed by pods that ripen to black. It grows in hedgerows, on river banks, along woodland edges and in tall rough grassland.

Bumblebees are the main visitors to the flowers, and the plant is also a foodplant for several moth and butterfly caterpillars. As a legume it fixes nitrogen through root nodules, and it persists well in taller grassland, spreading slowly by creeping roots. It threads mid-summer blue through grasses and taller flowers in a meadow or margin.

It grows on most well-drained soils in full sun and is not fussy about soil type. It suits a hedge base, a field margin, a river bank, a woodland edge or a taller meadow that is cut once late in the year; it needs neighbouring plants or a fence to climb, so it is less suited to short, closely mown turf. Avoid deep shade and waterlogged ground.

Sow in autumn or spring onto bare or scarified ground, surface-sown and firmed in. The large seed germinates readily but plants build up over the first year and flower from the second summer. Cut in late summer or autumn once pods have ripened, removing the cuttings, and it will hold its place for many years. Combine with our hedgerow and tall meadow mixes or single species that share the same sunny, well-drained conditions.